Assessment in Higher Education (was Re: Grading, Evaluation and Bonus Points)

Some blog followers might be interested in a recent discussion-list post “Assessment in Higher Education (was Re: Grading, Evaluation and Bonus Points)” [Hake (2012)]. The abstract reads:

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ABSTRACT: Chris Rust (2012), in a POD post “The unscholarly use of numbers in our assessment practices; what will make us change?” at http://bit.ly/PIwxUd, raised the “fundamental question . . . what are marks, points or grades actually meant to represent?”

Consistent with Rust's concern for meaning of grades, pre/post testing – see e.g., http://bit.ly/aH2JQN with Concept Inventories http://bit.ly/dARkDY has strongly suggested that most course grades in traditional passive-student introductory physics lecture classes (not to mention most “Student Evaluations of Teaching”- see e.g., at http://bit.ly/jLZaz5) are essentially meaningless as gauges of students’ higher-order learning, since:

(a) students in such courses attain pre-to-posttest gains that average only about 23% of the maximum possible gain; while at the same time

(b) it's probably safe to say that well over half of the students in those courses had received course grades of A, B, or C, normally (but erroneously) considered to mean, respectively, “excellent,” “good,” and “fair.”

Rust (2012) references his earlier article “Towards a scholarship of assessment” [Rust (2007)], with a preview at http://bit.ly/RErhV7 in which he stated “it is vital that we explicitly articulate and establish a scholarship of assessment, which should be at the very heart of our scholarship of teaching and learning” . . . .[[my bold text: NO! the bold text does NOT mean that Rust was “shouting”]]. . . . As a guide to such articulation, I recommend Peggy Maki’s excellent book Assessing for Learning: Building a Sustainable Commitment Across the Institution .
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To access the complete To access the complete 15 kB post please click on http://bit.ly/TXF4nx.

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
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“What we assess is what we value. We get what we assess,
and if we don’t assess it, we won’t get it.”
Lauren Resnick [quoted by Grant Wiggins (1990)]

REFERENCES [URL’s shortened by http://bit.ly/ and accessed on 05 Sept 2012.]
Hake, R.R. 2012. “Assessment in Higher Education (was Re: Grading, Evaluation and Bonus Points),” online on the OPEN AERA-L archives at http://bit.ly/TXF4nx. Post of 5 Sep 2012 12:12:19-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to several discussion lists.

Wiggins, G. 1990. “The Truth May Make You Free, But the Test May Keep You Imprisoned: Toward Assessment Worthy of the Liberal Arts,” online at http://bit.ly/a7g09T on the MAA’s SAUM (Supporting Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics) page “Getting Started With Assessment” http://bit.ly/LR1Exe.

Culture of Science Education - Response to Woods

Some blog followers to might be interested in a recent post “Culture of Science Education - Response to Woods” [Hake (2011b)]. ["Woods" is Don Woods http://bit.ly/etekAw, Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University and problem-based-learning pioneer.]

The abstract reads:

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ABSTRACT: In response to “Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities #3” [Hake (2011a] STLHE-L's Don Woods wrote (paraphrasing):

" . . . . . by my latest count there are at least 20 valid forms of evidence that can be used for measuring teaching 'productivity.' These include Concept Inventories . . . . . as well as a well-designed course evaluations, . . . . exams and assignments,. . . . . . More details are given in my forthcoming book Motivating and Rewarding University Teachers to Improve Student Learning: A Guide for Faculty and Administrators.

I comment with regard to (1) neglect of Campbell’s and Dunkenfield’s Laws, (2) “well-designed course evaluation,” (3) Concept Inventories, and (4) yet more ways to gauge “teaching productivity” or “student learning.”

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To access the complete 19 kB post please click on http://bit.ly/fetCy6.

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University

Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands

President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII)

rrhake@earthlink.net

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake

http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi

http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com

http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake

“What we assess is what we value. We get what we assess, and if we don't assess it, we won't get it.”

-Lauren Resnick [quoted by Grant Wiggins (1990)]

REFERENCES [URL’s shortened by http://bit.ly/ and accessed on 14 March 2011.]

Hake, R.R. 2011a. “Changing the Culture of Science Education at Research Universities #3,” online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at http://bit.ly/gSNTGi. Post of 12 Mar 2011 16:53:33-0800 to AERA-L & Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post were transmitted to various discussion lists and are also online on my blog “Hake'sEdStuff” at http://bit.ly/hmX5GL with a provision for comments.

Hake, R.R. 2011b. “Culture of Science Education - Response to Woods” online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at http://bit.ly/fetCy6. Post of 14 Mar 2011 15:30:33-0700 to AERA-L & Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post were transmitted to various discussion lists.

Wiggins, G. 1990. “The Truth May Make You Free, But the Test May Keep You Imprisoned: Toward Assessment Worthy of the Liberal Arts,” AAHE Assessment Forum: 17-31; online at http://bit.ly/a7g09T.

Re: Results from The Survey of Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education

Some blog followers might be interested in a post of the above title. The abstract reads:

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ABSTRACT: James Moses (2010), president of the "Primary Research Group," in a recent post pointed to his group's "Survey of Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education" and to the fact that the survey covers, among many other things, EFFORTS IN ASSESSMENT. Before paying $149 for the report, some might like to know if any of those assessment efforts indicated the degree of student learning in so-called "Distance Learning" programs.

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To access the complete 9 kB post please click on http://tinyurl.com/yek7pe6 .

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University

24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands

President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References (PEDAR)

REFERENCES [Tiny URL's courtesy http://tinyurl.com/create.php.]

Hake, R.R. 2010. "Re: Results from The Survey of Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education," online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at http://tinyurl.com/yek7pe6 . Post of 10 Apr 2010 11:18:27-0700 to AERA-L, Net-Gold, and STLHE-L. The abstract and link to the complete post were also transmitted to various discussion lists.

Moses, J. 2010. "Results from The Survey of Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education," online on the OPEN! STLHE-L archives at http://tinyurl.com/yek7pe6. Post of 9 Apr 2010 12:57:44-0300 to STLHE-L and WBTOLL-L.

Assessment Question (ahhhhhhhhhhhh :-) ! !)

Some blog followers might be interested in a post of the above title [Hake (2010)]. The abstract reads:

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ABSTRACT: In a recent popular TIPS thread “assessment question (AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH)” psychologists commendably focus on testing so as to assess the effectiveness of their department's program for their *majors*.

But how about the effectiveness of the GENERAL INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY COURSE given to tens of thousands of *both majors and nonmajors* nationwide every year ?

Most psychologists appear to be either dismissive or oblivious of the fact that “Conceptual Inventories” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_inventory , developed through arduous quantitative and qualitative research by disciplinary experts, are currently being used to improve undergraduate - and some high-school - courses in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines (BUT NOT PSYCHOLOGY!)

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To access the complete 12 kB post please click on http://tinyurl.com/y9se44y.

REFERENCES [Tiny URL's courtesy http://tinyurl.com/create.php.]

Hake, R.R. 2010. “Assessment Question (ahhhhhhhhhhhh :-) ! !)”, online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at http://tinyurl.com/y9se44y . Post of 3 Mar 2010 09:30:08 -0800 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract is being sent to various discussion lists.